Clearwater police seek the public’s help to locate the man spotlighted on this video, in connection to an attempted carjacking at the Countryside Mall on Feb. 2 around 1 p.m.

CLEARWATER – Clearwater police seek the public’s help in connection to an attempted carjacking at the Countryside Mall on Feb. 2 around 1 p.m.

The suspect approached a 24-year-old Largo woman who had two young children with her as they got out of their car between J.C.Penney and Macy’s, the police report said. The suspect was armed with a silver or chrome handgun and pulled the slide back on the gun as he demanded the vehicle, police say.

The woman pleaded with him not to hurt her or her children or to take her car. Both children were preschool-age, and one child was in a baby stroller, police say.

When another car pulled into a nearby parking space, the suspect was startled and ran from the scene, the report said. He ran south toward Countryside Boulevard and then west on Countryside Boulevard, the report said.

The suspect is a black male in his mid-20s, about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with a medium build. He was clean-shaven and had short black hair. He was wearing a unique, white, baggy polo shirt with green and blue horizontal stripes and dark jeans. He also had a dark shoulder bag.